week 13 story: the revelers' search for death

I had heard about the terrible revelers of Flanders. A group of wild young men who caused trouble through their immoral and reckless behavior. Rioters. They gambled and drank all day and night. Stealing the richest assortment of foods and women, too. Very greedy. They had to be stopped. Dead or alive. Of course, I knew no other was brave enough to even try. And the revelers saw themselves as brothers; they would not hurt each other, much less dare to betray one another. Or would they? 

I am Death. Everyone meets me sooner or later. It -- or rather I -- am inevitable. I know many people have heard stories about me. They are mostly true, but I don’t collect souls for unnecessary reasons. When the time is right, I will be there. When the time is close to one’s departure from life, I can feel it and I am drawn to it. I linger behind the light until they are ready for me. 

Anyway, the group of revelers was a unique tale. The three of them were drinking one night in a tavern and heard the jingling bell of a passing coffin. The waiter told the revelers the corpse was a friend of theirs and a sly thief called Death pierced his heart. This enraged the men, who vowed to find and slay Death. 

Me. 

I watched as they drunkenly staggered through the streets. When at dawn, they encountered an old, scraggy man and hounded him -- accusing the old man of being my spy and threatening the poor man’s life. I hear the old man say, “Since you seek Death so badly, I will tell you where I saw him last,” as he points down a path leading towards the woods. “Death was sitting at the root of the oak tree over there.” So, the young men rush over there, but to their surprise, they didn’t find what they’re looking for. 

A generous pile of gold occupied the bottom of the oak tree. Oh, the young men were so delighted as they ran their hands through the shining pile of gold. This was their lucky day, they exclaimed to each other. They planned on taking the gold to their house, but did not want to risk traveling in daylight for fear of being accused of stealing the gold; they chose to wait until nightfall came. The revelers came up with a plan: whoever drew the shortest straw was to go into town to gather food and wine for the night while the other two stayed behind to guard the treasure. The youngest man drew the shortest straw and ventured into the town -- a long way from the oak tree -- while the other two planned another scheme. 

A pile of gold. Web Source

I listened to the two men plan an attack on the youngest. “There will be more gold for us if we divide it between us two,” one man persuaded the other. “There are two of us to his one. When he comes back, you must launch a friendly wrestling match. Then, when he is distracted, I will come behind and spear him. We will have all the finest wine, delicacies, and gold to gamble.” And that was their plan. 

Now, the youngest reveler finally was in the town and acquired food and wine to last through the day. The pile of gold stayed on his mind; he wished he could have the whole fortune to himself. Then, he devised his own plan. He obtained rat poison and sprinkled them into two of the wine bottles meant for the other revelers and headed back to the oak tree. 

So, the plans were laid out and I watched them play out. When the youngest reveler returned, his companions killed him during a wrestling match. The two villains celebrated and indulged themselves to the food and wine. It was dark at this time, so they took the gold and headed towards town. Not long after, the two men were dead on the ground. 

This was the end of the revelers. They intended to find Death and death they did find.

Author's Notes: I didn't change the plot from the source story, but I wanted to tell the story from Death's point of view. Death is a character in the source story, but I wanted to personify the character and allow him (or her) tell the story. I enjoyed reading the story and I thought retelling it from Death's perspective was a fresh take on the story itself. In my story, I also didn't want Death to be the "villain" because death is inevitable after all. But Death watches the revelers because he knows they will meet their fate and die soon; karma, perhaps? The story was also a three-part story, so telling it from Death's point of view helped to shorten it. Hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for reading!

Bibliography: "The Pardoner's Tale: The Revelers who Went out to Meet Death" from The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan.